College Facts

Brief History

Engineering was one of the first programs offered at Iowa Agricultural College (now Iowa State University) when the university was established in 1858. The first students who arrived in 1869 studied agriculture and mechanics. Soon after, several branches of engineering developed out the mechanics course. When the first Iowa State class graduated in 1872, six of the 26 students graduated with engineering degrees – four in civil and two in mechanical. Read more about ISU engineering through the years on our history page.

Our Passion

Educating future engineering leaders… conducting research to address our greatest challenges… using technology to make a difference… celebrating diversity of thought and culture… and creating solutions to make Iowa and the world a better place.

Degree Programs

12 undergraduate degree programs

5 engineering minors

14 interdepartmental graduate programs in 10 areas of study

Certificate program in engineering leadership

Concurrent dual degree programs

An “undeclared engineering” program for freshmen (about one third of our first-year students enter this program)

Enrollment

Record enrollment of 9,312 engineering students (fall 2015) – undergraduate enrollment ranks 8th largest in the country.

Quick Facts

95% placement rate six months after graduation with average starting salary of $62,000.

One of the largest annual engineering career fairs in the country with about 350 employers and more than 6,250 students attending.

More than 70% of engineering students graduate with engineering work experience.

Academic resources include dedicated advisors in each department, an academic success center, computer labs, disability resources, help room, tutoring services and other support programs.

84% of full-time, first-year engineering students are members of learning communities.

The engineering college is consistently ranked a top 25 engineering program at public universities.

The college provides statewide K-12 STEM outreach and training programs.

Many groups and resources at the college and university geared toward inclusion – examples include the Society of Women Engineers, Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers, National Society for Black Engineers, the LGBTA Alliance and many more.

Points of Pride

Learn more about our engineering points of pride and significant achievements through the years at our college history page.

Research Spotlight

For emergency responders and traffic operators, safety on highways has long been a struggle to reduce response times to accidents while keeping roadway congestion to a minimum. For researcher Anuj Sharma, there’s subtler factors to be taken into account. One of those factors? It’s a syndrome called cognitive bottleneck.Read the full story